Issues Concerning Islam Essay

Islamics have been accused of mutilating women. This practice, however, is denied by the followers of Islam. According to them, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), which is actually a operative procedure performed on girls before they reach the age of puberty for the purpose of terminating or reducing their sexual feelings, is not an Islamic practice. They explain that FGM is a impost of Animists, Christians, and some Muslims in those countries where FGM is common. Women argon given equal rights under Islam. In situation, the Quran decreed that when it comes to public life, men and women should have equal rights and participation.During the time of Muhammad, women were allowed to participate actively in their baya which is the equivalent of todays practice of political endorsements. Evidence of this Muslim womens status is the voting rights granted to women in the predominantly Muslim countries like Bahrain, Qatar, and Oman. The women in Kuwait followed suit by earning their right t o vote and get elected sometime in 2005. In fact, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, Kuwaits Prime Minister, divulged a plan to appoint a woman minister in Kuwait soon (Robinson, 2007).Muslims as terrorists and pro-violence Yusuf (n. d. ) said that majority of the Muslims are convince that while the U. S. government has been blaming act of terrorism on Islam for years, it was the 9/11 incident which dealt the approximately telling blow on the credibility and reputation of their theology. This was because the international media was suitable to depict that m either Muslims around the world rejoiced after that incident. The truth is, however, that majority of the Muslim world was saddened by that incident and the repercussions it caused.They would like to tell the world that terrorism is not an official policy of Islam and that, in fact, Muslims also consider terrorists as enemies of their religion. He laments the fact that When a crazy Christian does something terrible, everyone in the West knows it is the actions of a mad man because they have some knowledge of the core beliefs and ethics of Christianity. When a mad Muslim does something evil or foolish they assume it is from the religion of Islam, not because they hate us but because they have never been told by a Muslim what the teachings of Islam are all about.Yusuf blames this lack of Islamic knowledge among Christians to the fact that there is a dearth of credible spokespersons who could defend Islam from its attackers. As a matter of fact, Yusuf stressed that Islam is the middle way between excess and neglect and that terrorism is the preoccupation of zealots and extremists who are, in fact, a plaque of Islam. According to him, there are two types of Muslim extremists whose acts destroy Islam. The first he calls reactionary extremists. This group rejects any form of religious pluralism. According to these reactionary extremists, the world consists of good and evil with nothing in between.Good, accord ing to them, means the reactionary extremists and all those who oppose their actions are evil. Yusuf further explains that these kind of extremists are in the habit of excommunicating other Muslims who reject the way they interpret the Quran. However, this kind does not usually resort to violent acts to master their goals. Instead, they employ character assassination or takfir to ward their critics (Yusuf, n. d. ). The second type is the radical extremist. These Muslims extremists, according to Yusuf, are the ones who resort to violent acts and tactics to further their objectives.Yusuf stressed that these Muslims act as if they belong to some secret, wicked fiat whose members believe in the dictum that the end justifies the means. In other words, any method, even the most violent method, is acceptable as long as their cause is advanced. According to Yusuf, this is destroying Islam because the methods employed by Islam should be reflecting the noble ends of the religion. Secondly , Islam is not a secret society of conspirators rather, it is open with its objectives and traditions which have already been accepted and recognized by people from other religious denominations (Yusuf, n. d. ).